1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting device, and more particularly relates to a light emitting device that is used in lighting, automobiles, industrial devices, and consumer devices (such as displays), and can be used to advantage in thin and compact surface mounting applications, and to a method for manufacturing this light emitting device.
2. Background Information
An example of a conventional surface mount type of light emitting device is a light emitting device in which a light emitting element is electrically connected to a pair of electroconductive members formed in a pattern on the surface of an insulating substrate made of glass epoxy, ceramic, or the like, and the area near the light emitting element is sealed with a translucent insulating member.
A light emitting device such as this is expensive to manufacture because it entails so many manufacturing steps and parts. Furthermore, heat generated by the light emitting element is radiated to the outside through the substrate, which is composed of an insulating material with low thermal conductivity, so heat dissipation is inadequate. As a result, when a high-output light emitting element is used, the device cannot be used in applications where continuous use is desirable. The heat dissipation path can be shortened by making the insulating substrate thinner, but if this is done the electroconductive member formed on the upper face may not be strong enough.
Thus, it has been difficult to increase the heat dissipation of a light emitting device and at the same time keep the device thin and compact.
Meanwhile, a light emitting device has been proposed that does not have the above-mentioned substrate, and in which a pair of electrodes are affixed to the bottom face of the translucent resin that seals the light emitting element, etc. (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2001-203396).
However, the side faces of the electrodes embedded in the resin are substantially parallel to the embedding direction, so impact and so forth encountered during mounting to a circuit board or during use after mounting can easily cause the electrodes to separate from the resin, resulting in a less integral structure in the light emitting device. Particularly in the case of a light emitting device, since the insulating member that seals the light emitting element has to be made translucent, the mechanical strength cannot be increased by adding a filler or the like, making it extremely likely that this problem will occur.
Moreover, no specific method for manufacturing this light emitting device has been described.